Tesoro hangs on to beat Mater Dei

Santa Ana Mater Dei kicker Zac Chocek missed a 37-yard field goal as time expired and host Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro held on for a 38-35 victory Friday night in a Pac-5 Division quarterfinal.

Titans quarterback Robbie Picazo displayed pinpoint accuracy, completing 20 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley completed 11 of 31 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions, though eight of his passes were dropped.

Tesoro’s offensive line provided plenty of time for Picazo to find open receivers. Receiver Preston King had two touchdowns, one on a 38-yard catch and another on a 32-yard interception return. Titans receiver Zach Bevan caught 11 passes for 120 yards.

The Titans (12-0) constantly stacked the box and blitzed, converting turnovers into two touchdowns, including King’s interception return and Brett Gudim’s 45-yard interception return.

The Monarchs (8-4) were led by running back Jordan Allen (two touchdowns) and Jaron Hytche (21 carries for 160 yards).

-- Mark Medina

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Lakewood routs Mission Viejo

Jerry Stone rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns in 25 carries to lead host Lakewood to a 28-7 victory over Mission Viejo in a Pac-5 Division quarterfinal.

The junior speedster was nearly unstoppable, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a 44-yard sprint up the middle before tacking on a couple of third-quarter touchdowns. Stone, whose early-season ineligibility resulted in four forfeits by the Lancers, has averaged 203 yards a game in the postseason.

Lakewood (6-6) will play the winner of tonight’s game between top-seeded Long Beach Poly and Anaheim Esperanza in a semifinal next Friday.

The Lancers came out on top in the battle between two of the Southland’s most prolific quarterbacks. Junior Jesse Scroggins completed 10 of 17 passes for 174 yards. His 48-yard, touchdown pass to Kevin Anderson in the second quarter was the play of the game.

Allan Bridgford completed 18 of 36 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for Mission Viejo (10-2).

-- Austin Knoblouch

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Saugus gets past Thousand Oaks

Desi Rodriguez rushed for 258 yards and three touchdowns in 38 carries and threw for 81 yards and two more scores to lead Saugus (9-3) to a hard-fought 35-28 victory over Thousand Oaks (10-2) in a Northern Division quarterfinal at College of the Canyons.

Rodriguez threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Mario Lara with 2:33 left to give the Centurions the lead for good. Running back John Lister finished with 191 yards and one touchdown for Thousand Oaks.

Saugus will play top-seeded Ventura St. Bonaventure (12-0), a 32-7 winner over Paso Robles (9-3), in a semifinal next week.

-- Steve Galluzzo

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Two-minute drill

Nick Montana completed 10 of 22 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions for top-seeded Westlake Village Oaks Christian (12-0) during a 21-0 victory over visiting Santa Maria Pioneer Valley (9-3) in a Northwest Division quarterfinal. . . . Brandon Mims threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Meilson with 3:49 to play to lift top-seeded Palmdale (11-1) to a 21-14 victory over visiting Beverly Hills (8-4) in a Western Division quarterfinal.